Sunday, August 30, 2009

Monday night pre-reactions

Brett Favre will play the entire first half against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football tomorrow. Since I've got some time now, I've decided to be proactive with my analysis of Favre's play with three possible reactions:

a) Favre plays well (roughly 150+ yards, 2+ TDs, 0 Int.)

Granted, it's just one preseason game, but it's nice to see that there might actually be something to Favre's whole "I don't need training camp" mentality. Coming off his lackluster debut last week, he needed to show something, not really because the team needs hit to do well right now, but because they need to convince the anti-Favre faction (like yours truly) that he actually can be a force for good and not for evil. I still have my reservations, and I still don't know that he can hold up for the entire season (not to mention 2010), but right now, I'll take any good I can get.

b) Favre plays OK (100-150 yards, 0-1 TDs, 0-1 Int.)

Granted, it's just one preseason game, but Favre still certainly needs some work with his team. His hit-and-miss play isn't what I, for one, am looking for from a guy making $12 million this year; Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels probably could have done the same for a lot less. There's still room for improvement, and the deal might not be a total waste, but I expect more. Here's hoping Favre can get enough done over the next two weeks and be ready to perform in Cleveland for the season opener.

c) Favre plays poorly (less than 100 yards, 0 TDs, 2+ Int.)

Granted, it's just one preseason game, but is this why we endured the months of drama? Yes, the Favre-backers will point to it being a preseason game (and that every missed pass was the receivers' fault), but come on -- at least some of the blame has to go on the QB. Yes, it is still just the third week of preseason, but if this doesn't look better (next week against Dallas and most importantly, week 1 against Cleveland), this could go down as the worst transaction in Vikings history since the Herschel Walker trade.

Yes, I know that not all my statistical benchmarks cover all situations, but they should mostly suffice.

3 comments:

H Walker left the Vikings draft in ruins for 5 years...we pick-up up a HOF guy off the street and Zigi picks up the tab, not even in the same county as the HW deal. BL if he is a bust bench him and our draft is still there for the future.

I would really like to see Favre do well tonight because if he doesn't, only blind optimism can sustain Vikings fans through the time until the regular season opens. Excuses may hold some validity (chemisty, no Berrian, etc.), but will do little to calm my fears.

I doubt Favre will see significant time in the last preseason game regardless of tonight's performance. There will be no way to tell how Favre is coming along until Minnesota is playing real games, and that's stressful.